This week brought a first for me: conflict with a student. While my lesson plans went over well and teaching went great with nothing new to report, really, my issue of the week is of a different measure. Throughout this semester I've had a student that has come to class late consistently. I've approached her out of class and asked if she had a medical reason for being late or if she was just late of her own accord, and always the same answer is given--"I had to be somewhere else and just got finished." Her excuse seemed very private and the only other thing I told her was that she would need to show me documentation for me to allow her to makeup missed in-class work. The student is otherwise a responsible student, does homework, and writes well so the only minor violations she's received are for tardiness, 3 times equalling a minor violation. So Friday she came to class 35 minutes late. I have never addressed the issue in class before, always waited until after, however this time the student asked me in the middle of class in front of everyone what I wanted her to do to makeup the freewrite that she missed in class. When I told her we'd talk after class she said, "Well, I'need to leave early, too." I was already upset that she came to class so late and let the door slam behind her while everyone was writing, but I held my cool. I really felt like she was trying to push my authority, when ironically enough, authority was what she missed in class discussion. So I replied, "You aren't making up the work because it's part of in class work for a reason and you are being counted absent for today if you are leaving early, also." This must have upset her a great deal because she spent the rest of the time she was there rolling her eyes at me and clicking her pencil on the desk. About 5 minutes before class was up, she started crying and left class. One of my other students before leaving said, "You are just trying to be fair to us, Mrs. Jones. Don't worry about it."
My first concern is that my other student recognized that I was baffled by the situation. I don't want them to see me uneasy and feel the need to comfort me. Also, I sent the other student and e-mail asking again why she was late. The student replied that she is in ROTC and that the group leader is not bringing them back from mandatory meetings until 5:30pm when our class starts at 5:15. I've asked for a written statement or an e-mail address for her leader to explain that the student's grade is being harmed by the tardiness. The student says she doesn't want me to talk to them. I'm really at a loss of what to do. I mean, if she won't bring me documentation, then I'm right for her grade to be docked because of this, correct? I may need to come speak to you in person about this, Albert, but I really feel like there's nothing else for me to do about it.
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